Rolling mill



9, 1932- J. AJHEIDEN 1,870,509

ROLLING MILL Filed March 20, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

w A TTORNEYS.

J. A. HEIDEN ROLLING MILL Aug. 9, 1932.

Filed March 20, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M

BY; 4.) ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 9, 1932. J HEIDEN 1,870,509

ROLLING MILL Filed March 20, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR. QM sywjn z 7, 4.) ATTORNEYS.

1932- J.- A. HEIDEN 1,870,509

ROLLING MILL Filed March 20, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN TOR k BYMMJS 37%, :6!

3 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES JUHN A. HEIDEN, 0.1 PITTSBURGH, PMTNSYLVANIA notrirne MILL Application filed Harsh 20, 192%. Serial No. 263,096.

This invention relates to rolling mills and more particularly to mills for use in rolling strips, sheets or the like and which may be used in either single or continuous operations.

An object of this invention is to provide a four high rolling mill of improved construction and arrangement in which proper alignment of the different rolls is assured.

A further objectis to provide a four high rolling mill of such construction and arrangement that theworking rolls will be held in position by a force always greater than the roll shifting force.

A still further object is to provide a four high rolling mill of such construction and arrangement as to permit the use of smaller working rolls on a given piece of work than has heretofore been thought practical.

A still further object is to eliminate the necessity of hearings in connection with the working rolls.

A still further object is to provide a rolling mill of the type set forth of such con struction and arrangement as to be capable of rolling sheets with greater accuracy than similar mills now in use and known to me.

These and similar objects which will be apparent to those skilled in this particular art are accomplished by means of the arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of afour high rolling mill constructed in accordance with one form of this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view partly in section, on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation, similar to Fig. 1, of a somewhat difierent form of construction, and Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a four high mill having the usual working rolls of relatively small diameter and the usual backing rolls of substantially larger diameter, positioned above and below the upper and lower working rolls, respectively, in the usual manner. The desirability of maintaining the working and backing rolls in substantially the same vertical plane during working is well recognized in the art, and the present invention contemplates and provides mechanism for resisting deflection of the working rolls so that the advantages as of both the four high and the cluster mills will be obtained without the disadvantages thereof.

The particular embodiment of the recent invention which has been chosen for t 1e purea poses of illustration includes roll housings 10 between which upper and lower Working rolls 11 and 12, respectively, are mounted. Upper and lower backing rolls 13 and 14, respectively, are mounted above and below the as working rolls in the usual manner. The roll necks 15 of the lower backing roll are supported in roller bearings 16 in bearing casings or boxes 17 supported at the bottoms of the windows 18 of the roll housings and the necks 19 of the upper backing roll are supported in roller bearings 20 housed within bearing casings or housings 21. The bearingboxes 21 for the upper roll are mounted on roll supporting beams 22 extending through each housing above the upper bearing boxes. Each of the supporting beams is hung on roll supporting coil springs 23 by suitable rods 24 having collars 25 or the like engaging the springs. The bearings for so the upper rolls are adjustable vertically against the pressure of the supporting springs by suitable screw-downs 26. Thus, it is seen, the upper or top backing roll 13 is yieldably supported by or hung from a spring balance through the cooperation of the beams 22, rods 24 and springs 23 with the top of the mill housing; and, the screwdowns 26 enable the operator to fix the maximum deflection of the balance and to also. as will be later shown, adjust the distance between the working rolls 12 and 13.

Mechanism is provided for shifting the bearing boxes for the upper roll laterally in the roll housing for the purpose of adjust- 0: ing the axial position of the upper backing roll and the alignment thereof with the associated working roll. As illustrated, this mechanism includes adjustable plates 27 or liners mounted in recesses 28 suitably formed 10v in the inner faces of the roll housing windows and adjustably inwardly and outwardly of the recesses by suitable backing screws 29, preferably two to each plate or liner. It will be apparent that the adjustable liners not only maintain proper alignment of the upper roll while permitting adjustment thereof, but also prevents tilting of the hearing boxes for the upper roll. The insertion of the liners in the recesses 28 prevents the liner backing screws from receiving any side thrust. Adjustable clamps 30 of usual form, are provided for keeping the upper bearing boxes 21 in the housings. The lower bearing boxes 17 for the lower backing roll are supported at the bottoms of the roll housings on narrow plates 31, each of which has a concave supporting face 32 for receiving the convex lower and supporting face of the bearing box or housing 17. This arrangement permits the lower bearing shell to tilt somewhat around a horizontal axis perpendioular to the axis of the lower backing roll with the result that the load on all four roller bearing rings in a given bearing is equalized during rolling.

Mechanism is provided for resisting lateral displacement of the working rolls 11 and 12 in either direction. .In the illustrated embodiment deflection resisting rollers 33 are located on each side of each working roll so that the roll faces are in engagement throughout their entire length. rolls 33 may be slightly crowned to insure full line contact with the working rolls 11 and 12. The lateral supporting rolls are, preferably, about equal in diameter to the diameter of the working rolls. They may, of course, be smaller or larger, but their diameter is such as to allow the roll necks to be mounted in roller bearings 34 of suflicient size to permit rolls and necks to be of the necessary strength for resisting lateral thrusts with a reasonable deflection, that is, particularly in view of the space requirements. The faces of the deflection or strain resisting rolls 33, or supporting rolls as they may be called, are equal in extent to the faces of the associated working rolls, and the axes of the upper pair of supporting rolls are located in a horizontal plane which passes through or above the axis of the upper working roll, while the axes of the lower pair of supporting rolls lie in a horizontal plane which passes through or behow the axis of the associated working ro Each supporting roller is mounted so as to be adjustable toward and from the associated working roll and also longitudinally thereof. In the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the roller bearings 34 which support the roll necks of the supporting rolls are each mounted in a hanger 35 movably mounted on an adjustable pivot pin 36 supported in the adjacent casing or box for the associated The side backing roll bearing. Each pivot pin 36 has a collar 37 adapted to seat in a recess 38 in the bearing box and the pivot pin is lon gitudinally adjustable by means of ad usting and clamping nuts 39 threaded to each end thereof, see Fig. 2. Such an arrangement provides for slight differences in roll length and permits such adjustment of the bearings as will prevent any axial shifting or sliding of the associated rolls. The hangers 35 are movable toward and away from the associated working roll and are moved inwardly by screws 40 extending through the roll housing 10. The inner end of each screw engages a spring plate or flexible washer 41 which in turn bears on a sliding block or piston 42 slidably mounted in a bore 43 in the housing. A self-adj usting presser plate 44 is mounted between the bearing block 42 and the hanger 35, and has a straight face engaging the cooperating face of the block 42 and a convex face engaging a concave depression in the adjacent face of the hanger 35. This arrangement permits the associated bearing to move freely up and down without in any way disturbing the location of its center in relation to the working or backing rolls. In some cases it may be preferable, in order that the working rolls 11 and 12 will be held in position by a force that is always greater than the roll shifting force, to provide the screws 40 on one side only of the mill housings 10 with the spring plates 41; i. e., on either the entry or delivery side.

The working rolls are spread apart and pressed against their associated backing rolls by means of spreader beams 45, one of which is associated with each roll neck of each work ing roll. Each spreader bar or beam has a semi-circular seat 46 engaging a portion of the associated roll neck and a portion of the shoulders 47 of the working rolls engage thrust rings formed at the inner portions of such seats. The spreader bar or hearing members are yieldably separated by means of wages 48 inserted between opposite ends of the adjacent spreader bars and formed at the inner ends of push rods 49 pivoted at their outer ends to cross heads 50 received within hollow socket members 51 having springs 52 for forcing the wedges inwardly between wedge engaging rollers 53 on the spreader bars, see Fig. 1. I have designated the member 48 as a right angle-reverse operative wedge in order to distinguish from an ordinary axial reverse operative wedge. By right-angle-reverse operative wedge I meaii one which under load, after due consideration of unavoidable friction, can be moved axially in either direction by a force applied at an angle of 90 with respect thereto, or,-'in other words, applied atright angles or normally to that wedge. By axial reverse operative wedge I mean a wedge which under load, after due consideration for unavoidable friction, can

only be moved by aforce applied in a direction parallel to the axis of that wedge.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a modified arrangement for adj ustably supporting the thrust resisting rolls 33. As illustrated the associated roller bearings 34 are mounted in boxes 55 having flanges 56 secured in recesses 57 formed in the associated backing roll hearing box by securing plates 58. The flanges 57 are narrower than the associated recesses so that the roller bearing boxes 55 are adjustable longitudinally of the associated rolls and laterally of the supporting recesses, by means of suitable adjusting screws59. Obviously, other ways of mounting the supporting rolls 33 may be employed.

The mill may be driven in the ordinary way, that is to say, the working rolls may be driven from a pinion stand located on one side 'only. Where the diameters of the working rolls are relatively large and where a relatively thick strip is to be rolled, such an ararrangement may be satisfactory. However, when the working rolls are driven from one side only, the twisting moment effects an angular distortion of the roll body, resulting in a tendency to twist the strip. The edge of the strip nearest the driven side tends to run a little in front of the opposite edge. Better results will be obtained in rolling wide and thin sheets, where the top working roll is driven from one side of the mill and the bottom working roll is driven from the other side thereof, using a synchroniz ng cross drive shaft in the usual manner. The result of such an arrangement is that the eilect of the angular distortion in the top working roll is equalized by an opposite distortion in the bottom working roll, thus tending to send the strip straight through the mill.

For rolling extremely thin, and at the same time, wide strips it will be advantageous to go even further in the way of counterbalancingthe drive. In this case, the top and bottom working rolls will each be driven from both ends by means of a pinion stand on each side of the mill, both rolls acting as synchronizing shafts. Such an arrangement reduces the angular distortion of the rolls and the twisting tendency in the strip to a minimum.

Whether or not this form of drive is employed, when a plate enters the roll pass the housing 10 is distorted inwardly and the adjusting screws 40 move inwardly therewlth, resulting in an increased inward pressure upon the roller bearings 34. The flexible washer a1, interposed between the adjusting screw and presser block 42 prevents crushing of these roller bearings by the inward movement of the housing sides, as might otherwise occur. The flexible washer prevents crushing of the bearing and permits proper control of the pressure thereon. The washer is so d1- mensioned that for a maximum deflection of less than approximately .005 of an inch the pressure caused will be somewhat greater than the maximum thrust to be expected on the bearing caused by the working rolls as a result of operation of the mill. If the spring plates or slidable washers 41 are provided only on one side of the mill housings, they may be dimensioned for approximating two times .005 of an inch or less.

When the work enters the roll pass, the sides of the housing bend inwardly, moving the adjusting screws inward and causing a certain pressure against the working rolls, through the flexible washer. This force, so produced, is always more than the lateral deflection thrust from the working roll with the result that the working roll will not move in any direction, but will remain in the center of the housing. .Vhen the pressure between the working rolls decreases the pressure between the working rolls and the supporting rolls 33 also decreases in the same ratio. In other words, the relative pressures of the supporting rolls 33 upon the work rolls and the lateral distorting pressure of the work rolls as a result of operation of the mill are automatically adjusted.

The rolls 33 form such supports for the working rolls as to eliminate all necessity for bearin gs on the working roll necks. Each work roll is held in place by forces which increase in proportion to the increase in distorting forces due to rolling. It will be noted from the drawings, and particularly from Figure 1, that the supporting rolls 33 of a given working roll lie on a common axial plane. As used in this specification, the

word plane means a geometrical surface such that, if any two points of it are joined by a straight line, that such points lie wholly within the surface and that such surface has a thickness of infinitesimal value or less than any assignable quantity. It will be further noted than the plane representative of the axial center of each working roll and parallel to the plane of the associated supporting rolls is substantially offset from such latter plane. In other words, the common plane representative of the axial centers of a given set of supporting rolls is positioned above and parallel to the plane representative of the axial center of their associated working roll. As a result, the supporting rolls are enabled to afford some resistance to vertical deflection of the working rolls. It will be further noted that the axial centers of both working rolls 11 and 12 and the backing up rolls 13 and 14 lies on a common vertical plane.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A rolling mill having in combination working rolls, backing rolls for resisting the vertical deflection of said working rolls, supporting rolls for resisting lateral thrust of said working rolls, and means for increasing the pressure of said supporting rolls on said working rolls in accordance with the increase in rolling pressure.

2. A rolling mill having in combination a working roll, a backing roll, bearing boxes associated with the necks of said backing roll and rolls for-resisting lateral deflection of said working roll, and means for supporting said last named rolls on said bearing boxes.

3. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks thereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls adapted to resist lateral deflection thereof, and hangers mounted on said bearing boxes and provided with bearings for the necks of said supporting rolls.-

l. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks thereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls adapted to resist lateral deflection thereof, and hangers mounted on said bearing boxes and provided with roller bearings for the necks of said supporting rolls.

5. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks thereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls adapted to resist lateral deflection thereof, and hangers mounted on said bearing boxes and provided with bearings for the necks of said supporting rolls, and means for pressing said hangers inwardly.

6. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks thereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls adapted to resist lateral deflection thereof, hangers mounted on said bearing boxes and forming supports for the necks of said supporting rolls, means for pressing said hangers inwardly, and means for cushioning the pressure on said hangers.

7 A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks hereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls adapted to resist lateral deflection thereof and hangers mounted on said bearing-boxes, means for pressing said hangers inwardly including screws associated with each of said hangers and threaded in said roll housing, and a yicldable presser plate between a given screw and its associated hangers.

8. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls and having the necks thereof supported in bearing boxes, supporting rolls for each of said working rolls ada ted to resist lateral deflection thereof, and angers mounted on said bearing boxes, means for pressing said hangers inwardly including screws associated with each of said hangers and threaded in said roll housing, a yieldable presser plate between a given screw and its associated hanger, and a self adjusting presser block associated with said plate.

9. A rolling mill having in combination spaced roll housings, a working roll, and a backing roll for resisting deflection of said working roll, vertically movable bearing boxes for the necks of said backing roll, and a horizontally movable bearing face mounted in a recess in each wall of each housing for adjusting the position of the associated hearing boxes.

10. A rolling mill having in combination spaced roll housings, a working roll, and a backing roll for "resisting deflection of said working roll, vertically movable bearing boxes for the necks of said backing roll, and a horizontally movable bearing face mounted in a recess in each wall of each housing for adjusting the position of the associated hearing boxes, and adjusting screws for each bearing face extending through said housing.

11. The combination with a rolling mill having suitable rolls and housings therefor, of bearing boxes for carrying said rolls, means for pressing said boxes inwardly, said means including a spring plate, so that the bearings of said rolls will be prevented from crushing upon an inward movement of the housing sides of said mill.

12. The combination with a rolling mill having suitable rolls and housings therefor, of bearing boxes for carrying said rolls, means pivoted to the side of each box for inwardly pressing said box, said means including a non-yieldable adjusting member posi tioned to extend inwardly of the housings of said mill, a pressure plate pivoted to the side of each block and a spring plate positioned between said pressure block and said adjusting member, so that the bearings of said rolls will be prevented from crushing upon an inward movement of the housing sides of said mill.

13. The combination with a rolling mill having suitable rolls and housings therefor,

of bearing boxes for carrying said rolls, L

means for pressing each of said boxes inwardly and transversely of the housing thereof, said means including a sliding block, a spring plate cooperating with one end of said block, said block having a pressure plate posi 111 tioned at the other end thereof having a convex face cooperating With a concave face of said boxes, so that said boxes will be pivoted about the axis of said means.

14. The combination with a rolling mill having suitable rolls and housings therefor,

of bearing boxes for carrying the necks of said rolls, means for inwardly pressing each of said boxes, said means extending from the housing windows and including a screw cooperating with a spring plate, said plate cooperating with a sliding block, said block cooperating with a pressure plate which in turn cooperates with the associated bearing box.

15. The combination with a rolling mill having a pair of working rolls, of supporting rolls for resisting lateral deflection of said working rolls, carrying means for said supporting rolls, pivoted means for pressing said carrying means inwardly within the roll housing. ,7

16. The combination with a rolling mill having a pair of Working rolls, of supporting rolls for each of said working rolls resisting lateral deflection thereof, and means carrying the necks of said supporting rolls, means for pressing said carrying means inwardly which includes screws associated therewith and threaded in the mill housing, a spring plate between a given screw and its associated cal.- rying means, and a self-adjusting pressure block associated with said plate.

17. The combination with a rolling mill having suitable housings and working rolls, of supporting rolls for each of said working rolls for resisting lateral deflection thereof, said supporting rolls being positioned in suitable hangers, means cooperating with a concave face of each hanger for pressing the supporting rolls against the associated working roll, said means being positioned in and extending from the housings and having aconvex face cooperating with the concave face of each hanger, so that said hangers will be pivotally positioned with respect to the housings.

' 18. The combination with a rolling mill having a pair of working rolls, of supporting rolls for each of said working rolls resisting lateral deflection thereof, carrying means for said supporting rolls, means for axially adjusting the position of said carrying means with respect to its associated supporting rolls, and means for laterally pressing said carrying means inwardly, so that said supporting rolls will cooperate with said working rolls.

19. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, and supporting rolls for each of said working rolls mounted on opposite sides thereof, the axes of said supporting rolls being disposed parallel to the axes of the associated working rolls, the axial center of the supporting rolls for each working roll being positioned on a common plane that passes above the plane of the axial center of associated working roll, so that said supporting rolls will resist lateral defiectlon of said working rolls and will translate a portion of said resistance in a direction opposing the force exerted by a piece being rolled be tween said working rolls.

20. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, and supporting rolls for resisting lateral deflection of each of said working rolls, the axes of said supporting rolls being disposed parallel to the axes of the associated working rolls, the axial centers of said supporting rolls for each roll being mounted on a common lateral plane, said plane being above a lateral plane of the axial center of the associated working roll, so that said supporting rolls will resist lateral deflection of said working rolls and will translate a portion of the resistance in a direction normal to said rolls.

21. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls and supporting rolls for resisting deflection of said working rolls, the axes of said supporting rolls being disposed parallel -to the axes of the associated working rolls, the supporting rolls for a given working roll being positioned on either side of said working roll and lying on a common plane, said common plane of the supporting rolls being offset from the corresponding parallel plane of their associated working roll, so that said supporting rolls will resist deflection of their associated working roll along the above mentioned plane of said working roll, and will somewhat resist deflection of said working roll along a plane normal to said above mentioned plane of said working roll.

22. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, supporting rolls mounted on either side of each working roll and associated therewith for resisting lateral deflection thereof, said supporting rolls having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the working rolls, the axial centers of said supporting rolls being mounted on a common lateral plane above the lateral plane of the axial center of their associated working roll, so that said supporting rolls will afford some resistance to vertical deflection of said working rolls.

23; A rolling mill having in combination a pair of upper and lower working rolls, bearing members for supporting the necks of said working rolls, and means for spreading said working rolls apart which includes a rightangle-reverse-operative wedge interposed between the bearing members of the upper and lower rolls, so that said rolls will be yieldably held in working relation with respect to each other.

24. A rolling mill having in combination, a pair of upper and lower working rolls, upper and lower backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls, a right-angle reverse operative wedge for yieldably separating said workin rolls at each end thereof so that said wor ing rolls will always be held in frictional engagement with their associated rolls, and will be yieldably held in working relation with each other.

25. A rolling mill having in combination upper and lower working rolls, a bearing member supporting the necks of each working roll at each end thereof, and a rightangle reverse operative wedge separating the adjacent bearing members of the upper and lower working rolls at each end of the mill, so that said working rolls will be yieldably held in a position depending upon the pressure exerted thereupon and upon the pressure exerted on said yieldable means.

26. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, a pair of backing rolls associated with said working rolls, bearing members interposed at each end of each working roll for supporting the necks thereof, adjacent bearing members of the working rolls at one end of the mill being separably held in position with respect to each other, and right-angle-reverse-operative wedge means interposed at each end of the ad acent bearing members at each end of the mill for holding said working rolls in continuous frictional engagement with their associated backing rolls.

27. A rollin mill having in combination a pair of worring rolls,'backing rolls associated therewith for resisting vertical deflection thereof, each of said working rolls having a bearing member at each end thereof, a horizontally extending wedge positioned between the opposite ends of adjacent bearing members for yieldably holding said working rolls in frictional engagement with their associated backing rolls, said yieldable means including a horizontally positioned and extending wedge member, a heavy spiral spring disposed at the extending end of said wedge member and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

28. A rolling mill having in combination a air of working rolls, top and bottom backing-up rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls, a spring balance for said top backing roll, and means for fixing the maximum deflection of said balance, bearing members positioned at each end of each working roll, and right-angle-reverse-operative wedge means interposed between the bearing members of each working roll for continuously, yieldably and automatically pressing said working rolls against their associated backing rolls, so that said backing rolls will be continuously driven by frictional engagement with said working rolls.

29. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of workin rolls, top and bottom backing rolls for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls, a spring balance supporting said top backing roll, said working rolls having bearing members supporting the necks thereof, and yieldable means interposed between said bearing members for continuously, yieldably and automatically pressing said working rolls against said backing rolls will at all times be held in frictional engagement with their associated backing rolls.

30. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, top and bottom backing rolls for resisting vertical. deflection of said working rolls, said top working roll being supported by a sprin balance, said working rolls at each end t ereof having their necks interposed between bearing members, said bearing members at each end of the mill having an adjacent positioning with respect to each other, yieldable means separating each end of the associated bearing members at each end of the mill, said means including anti-friction rollers positioned at the ends of the bearing members, a right-angle-reverseoperative wedge positioned to extend between the rollers at each end of said bearin members for separating said members an pressing said working rolls in frictional engagement with their associated backing rolls, said wedge at one end thereof havin an expan sion spring for forcing said we e between the said anti-friction rollers, so t at the adjacent bearing members at each end of the mill housing are yieldably held in a separated relation with respect to each other.

31, A rolling mill having in combination a pair of upper and lower workin rolls, a pair of upper and lower backing rol s for resisting vertical deflection of said working rolls, said upper backing roll being ieldably hung from the housing of the mill each of said working rolls having a bearing member supporting the necks thereof, and a yieldable means interposed between adjacent bearin members of the upper and lower rolls at eac-E end thereof, so that said working rolls will be continuously held in frictional relationship with their associated backing rolls.

32, A rolling mill having in combination a pair of upper and lower workin rolls, a pair of upper and lower backing ro ls for resisting vertical deflection'thereof, supporting rolls positioned on either sideof each working roll for resisting lateral deflection thereof, and means yieldably suspending said upper backing roll, hangers for the upper of said supporting rolls pivotally secured to said yieldable suspending means, said lower backing roll being pivotally mounted within the lower portion of the mill housing, the supporting rolls of the lower working roll being secured to the pivot mounting of said lower backing roll, said working rolls having supin adjacent relationship with respect to the supporting beam of the associated working roll at a given end of the housing, and yieldable means interposed between each end of adjacent supporting means at each end of the housing, so that said working rolls will be continuously held in frictional engagement with their associated backing rolls, and so that said working rolls will be held in yieldable relation with respect to each other.

33. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of upper and lower working rolls, a pair of upper and lower backing rolls associated therewith for resisting vertical deflection thereof, each working roll having a pair of supporting rolls associated therewith for resisting lateral deflection thereof, bearing boxes for supporting said upper and lower backing rolls, means yieldably suspending the bearing members of the upper backing roll from the housing of said mill, and means limiting the maximum deflection of said suspension means, hangers pivotally connected to and suspending from the bearing boxes of the upper and lower backing rolls, said supporting rolls being mounted within said hangers, and means yieldably pressing said hangers in the direction of the associated working roll of said supporting rolls for yieldably holding said supporting rolls in cooperative relation with their associated working rolls, bearing members disposed at each end of each working roll and being adjacently positioned with respect-to the bearing member of the associated working roll, and yieldable means interposed between the bearing members and extending through the mill housing for yieldably pressing the working rolls into frictional engagement with their associated backing roll.

34. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of upper and lower working rolls, a pair of upper and lower backing rolls associated therewith for resisting vertical deflection thereof, bearing members for supporting said working rolls, bearing members for said upper backing roll, yieldable means suspending the bearing member of the upper backing roll from the mill housing, and adjustable means for limiting the maximum deflection of said upper backing roll, the bearing members of said lower backing roll being pivotally positioned within the housing of said mill, supporting rolls disposed on each side of said working roll for'resisting lateral deflection thereof, said supporting rolls being mounted in hangers pivotally connected to the bearing members of the associated upper and lower backing rolls, and means for adjusting said pivot connections longitudinally of said rolls.

35. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, a beam at each end of each roll having a semi-circular seat cooperating with a portion of the shoulder of each roll for positioning said roll, and means yieldpair of working rolls and mechanism for spreading apart said rolls "including a spreader member located at each end of each roll and provided with a semi-circular bearing face for receiving a portion of the associated roll neck, and a thrust resisting face cooperating with a portion of the associated roll shoulder and means yieldably separating the beams at each end of said rolls, in accordance with pressure upon the associated rolls.

37. The combination with a rolling mill having a pair of working rolls, of upper and lower spreader beams associated with the roll necks at each side of the mill, and means yieldably spreading said beams from opposite ends thereof in accordance with pressure upon said beams and said rolls which includes wedges extending from the mill houslngs.

38. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, upper and lower spreader beams having semi-circular thrustresisting seats associated with a portion of the roll necks at each side of the mill, and mechanism yieldably spreading said beams and rolls apart in accordance with pressure thereupon which includes wedges located between each pair of beams.

39. A rolling mill having in combination a pair of working rolls, upper and lower spreader beams associated with the roll necks at each side of the mill, and mechanism yieldjably spreading said beams and rolls apart in 1 accordance with pressure thereupon which includes wedges located between each pair of beams, wedge engaging rollers on said beams, and'means for yieldingly forcing said wedges inwardly.

40. A four high rolling mill including a pair of working rolls, a backing roll for each of said working rolls, a roller bearing for each backing roll neck including separate roller rings, and a support for the bearings of the bottom roll formed so as to permit adjustment thereof to insurethe substantially.

the backing roll necks including roller rings,

a bearing box for each bearing and a concave support for each bearing box permitting self adjustment thereof to provide even distribution of the bearing load to said roller rings. 1??

43. A four high rolling mill having in combination a pair of Working rolls, a backing roll for each of said Working rolls, and supporting rolls mounted on each side of each working roll, and means for pressing each supporting roll into engagement with the associated Working r011 said means being formed so as to increase the pressure of said supporting rolls on said Working rolls in accordance with the rolling pressure.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 16th day of March,

JOHN A. HEIDEN. 

